“Not” On the Bench…

That’s the sensation I got when I started fiddling around with Trumpeter’s 1/350 USS North Carolina kit, and pondering my plan to build the Showboat in her 1944 fit-out as the USS Washington BB-56 as she appeared in November 1942. My plan was simple. Build the kit. Paint it in the Measure 22 scheme the Washington wore off Guadalcanal. Slap the number 56 on it, instead of 55.

Then I did a little bit of research. And encountered a list of like fifty things I’d have to change. Since there are two degrees of conversion – from the battleship North Carolina to the Washington, and from 1944 fit-out to 1942. The more I learned, the more I knew I couldn’t do the lazy paint-it-like-another-ship route and be happy with it.

So I decided screw it, I’ll just build the damn Showboat. Then I started test fitting. The upper hull is a bit warpy, the deck fit is all over the place. I started feeling rather intimidated.

So I’ve decided, for now, to put her back on the shelf. I will try my hand at ships…but I’m going to re-cut my teeth on something more manageable.

I typically feel overwhelmed at the start of any ambitious build – the Wingnut Pup, Tammy Spitfire, the current Fiat G.55. But with every one of them, there’s been enough that’s familiar that I can latch to something. With ships, I just don’t have the grounding. Hopefully the Laffey will help me get my bearings.